Tie-rod construction



06h 27, 1931. F. c. CRAWFORD ETAL TIE ROD CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 26, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l o K am M 5f# p M1@ Mm w mnd@ 4W N :vp N www DA .Q f MK N x V mw M. EN mx mi NN N Oct. 27, 1931. F. c.' cRwFoRD ET AL 1,828,891

TIE ROD CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1926 Marr/fm @6P/:AMM

' rmP/wfy Patented Oct. 27,` 1931 unir-Eo STATES `l?ATeflsn ori-ice FREDERICK C.'CRAW`FORD AND 'MATTHEW 1. GRAHAM, OF 4IDlEJlROIE'l, MICHIGAN,'AS

" srGNons To THOMPSON rnonucrs INC., ory cnnmnnn onro',l A couronner or OHIO i 'rm-Ron CONSTRUCTION r .Application led February 26, 1926; Ses-:dialL No. 90,906.

Our- `invention rrelates to,Y connecting rods Suchas are employed in tie rods for antoniobi'l'eS.. The tie rodof an automobile is that rod which connects together two rigidy arms 10jcotingV fromy the steering knuckles of the vront wheels of en'automobile, whereby they are caused to turn in unison when one of thenr is operated by the; steering wheel.

For proper steering .of an automobile it is necessary to :give the frontv wheels what is known! use toe-in, i. e.,fthe front wheels mustbe arranged in planes, not vertical and parallehbut in planes slightly converging toward' the front. As the tie rod; isv rigidly connected to, the opposite steering knuckles and as thefnont stub laxles are alsorigidthere` with, it is apparent that in order to givethe front, wheels the propery toe-.inlunder all f conditions,r some means of adjustment of the -tierod or joint connections is. necessary. In

the usual construction, in order to. provide thisedjustment, the tie rod is vmede of two end. membersvand: an intermediate member, which are yrelatively adj ustable;

- Itv isthe. object `of thi'si-nvention to reduce the weight offsuchiparts, which are .ordinarily made from a metal rod of circular cross sec'- tion, ywithout sacrifice ostrength, and. so: to devise .al balli-joint, employingV a. ball'stud and vmeansfior connecting it to such a; structural shape, asto permitready adjustmentcf the ballstud relative tol theintermediate part off therod:y

e The reduction inwei lit 'is accomplished by@44 employing structureJ shapes, isuch. as I'- s und' channel bars, withwhich is combinedfanovel form ofrholding and adjustingmeens for the 'bell stud.k

z 'Ehe invention-may be embodied indifferent-forms, 'and for yexemplary purposes we describe herein-modications .ofthe structural shape, modification of the ball-joint construe tion, the holding means therefor, :indV of the means t for effectingadjustments' of? `the-.joint with. respectzto. Ythe -intermediiitepartfof-- the;A connecting rod. Formost-purposesfwe prefer;

thej-form ShOWn in Figsl to-6,.in wl'iichgis employed u Eball ,seathevfingpan eccentricboreformingythe fbearing, Asurface, for; e ball stud,y

which forms, pari-of theA subjectfmatter'of-e cop; application. Serial No. 76,4848fled. December 19, 1925, by Matthew P.. Graham the annexed drawings:

Figure l, iszaplan View of a` tie rodwith am intermediate member made of I-bexmri-erose section with an adjustable; ballfjoint;

. Eig; isv a side elevation of: 1;.

- F'g... 3; is u crossisectioni on Line orn Fig'.. 2;

4 is a. fragmentary planv View ofv m modiiied form employing; mi intermediate member of channelrvshape cross: section;

F 5' is a.. side, elevationzot Eig,y 41;.

Fig.; is ai cross sectionzon line: VIf-VIzoff Ahrigng isaiplans View ostlie enilo, axmcdiledy form. ofatierod:V` using air inter.y member of Lfheem. crosssectionwith a; fied means: of adjustingl the balli joint; with; respect to. the intermedintemembergf FigiV 8 is: af sectiicnrV View` alongf line VEEL- VH1 Fig. 7.,;

FignlOiisaaplan view of? another modifica tion. in which the-A intermediate. mem'berf isf' medeE of twofy parts which; aret relatively adi justable'; n .f

Fig.r Il is a1 side View of.' theI formi shown n in Fig; 10;

throughout, .am intermediate member 1i, of

I-'besim` -cross section, isprovided;A nearit's ends, with onelorfmoreiapertures 2, providing means: for e rigid connectioni with corre spondingly aperturedf' shrinksL 3 formingff thev endss of a,v loop 4, I preferably" of spring' steel,

adeptedtoreceiveindlioldfa;bellj'oint:k 'Ehe ball joint ,preferablyy consists z of ai balli sentiy 5 of" cylindricafli contour, g having.: therein;

eccentric bore 6, contracted atitseupper end` to formj a i segmental: sphericalf bearings` sur-'- face =7 Vfor .f-thelball Sfof fa.- iballfstud, the.-

9. i of; whichI extends through the contracted.

endeteball seatendformseibearing for a ends of the intermediate member.

connected part 10, held in place by a castellated nut 11 threaded onto the end of the shank and held from rotation by a cotter pin 12. The ball seat is provided at its lower end with an outwardly projecting flange 13, adapted to be engaged by the lower edge of the loop 4, and the lower end of the eccentric bore is closed by a plate 14 and felt washer 15, or in any other suitable way. This form of ball joint is not a part of this invention, but forms the subject-matter of a copending application Serial No. 76,448, filed December 19, 1925 by Matthew P. Graham. The present invention is concerned with the combination of a ball joint. having the general characteristics described with an intermediate member of structural shape.

By reason of the eccentric location of the bore 6 in the ball seat 5 which forms the bearing surface for the-ball stud, the rotation of the 'ball seat will adjust the relation between the shank of the stud and the intermediate member 1 to change the distance between the centers of the ball studs at opposite Provision must therefore be made to release the ball seat from clamping engagement with the loop 4 to permit its rotation. To this end the loop is preferably formed of spring steel., and is provided, between a shank 3 and the inner side of the loop, with a bend 16, normally spacing the outer end of the shank a slight distance from the outer end of the intermediate member. At this point the Shanks are "if provided with apertures 17, and the end of the intermediate member 1 is provided with a registering aperture 18, to receive a bolt 19 provided with a nut 20.l The set of the metal of the loop is such that normally the loop 4.is expanded to a diameter greater than the exterior diameter of the ball seat 5. Thus, while the shanks .3 are rigidly secured to the intermediate member 1, the loop 4 is normally. of a size freely to permit the inseri. tion or rotation of the ball seat, but when the nut 2O is set up tightly the loop 4is contracted into firm clamping engagementrtherewith. In order to make the rotational adjustment of the ball seat, it will therefore be obvious that the nut is loosened, the adjustment is made, and the nut is again set.

The intermediate member may have other cross sectional forms. Figs. 4, and 6 illustrating an intermediate member 21 of channel form, the construction otherwise being the same as above described.

Instead of providing longitudinal adjust` mentof the ball stud shanks by means of a ball seat having an eccentric bore, such adjustment may be provided by employing a ball seat having a concentric bore with an adjustable connection between the loop and the intermediate member. Such an arrangement is illustrated in Figs. 7, 8 and 9, wherein an intermediate member 22 is provided near its ends, with elongated apertures 23, registering with a like number of apertures in the shanks 3 of the loop 4, through which pass bolts 24, to secure the shanks adj ustably to the intermediate member. In order to prevent the engaging parts from relative movement under all conditions of use, the contacting surfaces of the Shanks and intermediate member may be roughened, as by milling, as indicated at 25. In other particularsf the construction may be the same as described and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3.

Another modification is shown in Figs. to 12, in which the intermediate member is constructed of a plurality of parts 26, 27, adjustable with respect to each other, the ball seat in thiscase being permanently clamped by straps 28 to the free ends of the members.. It will be apparent from the description above that we have provided a connecting rod which is light, yet strong, combined with a simple and effective ball joint having means. to adjust it in relation to the intermediate` part of the rod. The features described may be varied in ways other than those described, and it is therefore to be understood that we havegiven only examples of the manner in which ourinvention may be embodied, andi that the invention is not confined to the examples given but includes all structuresfalling within the terms of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a connecting rod, the combination with a ball seat having an outer cylindrical contour and a lower flange, of an intermediate member, a strap having a loop encircling the cylindrical surface of said ball seat with its lower edge resting upon the lower flange of said ball seat and means securing the ends of said strap to said intermediate member, said means clamping said loop about said ball seat.

2. In a connecting rod, the combination with a ball seat having an outer cylindrical contour and a lower flange, of an intermediate flanged member having a vertical web, a looped strap adapted to clampingly engage the cylindrical surface of said ball seat with its lower edge resting upon the lower flange of said ball seat and with its shanks extending on each side of said vertical web, the contacting surfaces of said shanks and web being milled, there being registering elongated apertures formed in said shanks and web and means passing through said elongated slots for adjustably securing said shanks to said web.

3. In a connecting rod, the combination with a ball seat having an outer cylindrical contour, of an intermediate member, a strap having a loop encircling the cylindrical surface of said ball seat with its lower edge resting upon the lower flange of said seat, a pair of parallel shanks extending from said loop for receiving an end of said intermediate membei` therebetween, one of said shanksbeing offset adjacent said loop to space said shank from the end of said intermediate member, and means passing through one'of said Shanks', said intermediate member and the voffset portion of Said other shank to secure said stra-p to said intermediate member, said means also drawing the offset ortion of said shank into contact with sai intermediate member to clamp said loop about said ball seat. n

Signed by us this 22nd day of January,

MATTHEW P. GRAHAM. 1,5 FREDERICK U. CRAWFORD. 

